Women and the Land

Women and the Land takes a look at more than twenty-five women who are impacting Iowa’s farmland. Some of them have inherited rural property and are managing the agriculture practices from afar. Some are working the land directly, providing food to the heartland. Some are working in tandem with their husbands, fathers, sisters, daughters. Many of them grew up on a farm, left the land to get an education and left the state to follow their passions, only to find that their deepest passion is really the land, and have returned to it. Each of the women is affecting the land in her own unique and feminine way.

“In Women and the Land, Barb Hall and Kathryn Gamble drop readers into a beautiful – and sometimes challenging – world where the women work the land and tend the livestock. With stories of enterprise and entrepreneurship, as well as the traditional, hands-in-the-dirt work, Women and the Land offers a serene escape, full of the sights and sounds of America’s Heartland.”–Colleen Bradford Krantz, filmmaker and author, Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation

“Now more than ever, we need role models and mentors to lead and to inspire and teach future leaders in the sustainability community. This book serves as a great resource to promoting such leaders.”–Ralph Rosenberg, executive director Iowa Environmental Council

“A beautiful and powerful book about Iowa women and the land they love, nurture, and protect. Authentic and inspiring!”–Sally Pederson, former lieutenant governor of Iowa.

“Women farmers are finally receiving the recognition and credit for the hard, physical and mental work that farming entails. Hall and Gamble have documented that farming isn’t always the pastoral, peaceful scene that dominates the media. The women in this book represent thousands of women throughout the world that grow food.”–Denise O’Brien, founder of Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN)

KATHRYN GAMBLE was born on the south side of Chicago, raised in Atlanta and lived in New York City before moving to Iowa in 2005. So this farm stuff is relatively new to her. Kathryn earned her BA from the University of Georgia and also studied at the International Center of Photography in New York. Her commercial photography clients include ACLU, Meredith Corporation, Sweet Paul Magazine and Von Maur. This is her first book.

BARBARA HALL, a native Iowan, has never lived on a farm but has driven past hundreds of them, blissfully unaware about who owned the land or what they were doing with it. Barbara has been writing stories since approximately age 10, and holds a journalism degree from Iowa State University. A former editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine and other publications of Meredith Corporation, she has also worked in newspaper, advertising and public relations. This is her first book